Just a little bit desperate on Wisteria Way

WEST JORDAN — Nobody is sleeping with the lawn mower guy, and as far as anybody knows, there haven't been any murders or any neighbors who have been locked out of the house, naked.

Still, there is a good-looking handyman named Mike who has been known to wash his truck with his shirt off.

"He's cute, he's buff and he can fix anything," says Dana Grandy, who lives next door to Mike Nelson. "He's one of the reasons that living on this street is so awesome."

Welcome to Wisteria Way, where the biggest scandal is finding weeds in the neighbor's backyard and the biggest gossip is what newcomers from California paid for their two-story homes.

You won't find many deep, dark secrets on this quiet West Jordan street, but you will find a few desperate housewives.

Although they don't have much in common with their glamorous counterparts who live on Wisteria Lane in television's hit show, "Desperate Housewives" — "We can get pretty desperate every day at about 3:30, when the kids come home (from school)," says homemaker Kristine Robinson, 30.

Kristine used to hear "Mrs. Robinson" jokes, but for the past year, store clerks and friends have asked, "Which 'Housewife' are you?

"They see that I live on Wisteria Way and they're jealous," she says. "I love the show — I watch it every week. But life around here isn't nearly as exciting."

Eager to share the real story about life on Wisteria Way, Kristine and several of her "desperate" neighbors recently joined me for a Free Lunch of takeout pizza at Kristy Ziolkowski's house at the west end of the street.

Wisteria Way is about as far as you can go in this suburb before running into one of Salt Lake County's last stretches of farmland.

"The biggest scoop lately is that they are talking about putting a Target store in," says Kristy, 39, a mother of four. "Naturally, we're all thrilled. There aren't many places out here to shop."

Instead, "We spend a lot of time talking to other moms and going out to lunch," adds Casey England, 25, who has an 18-month-old son. "But I can't say that I've uncovered any secrets."